Netbeans - Swing Binding

Question

I'm using NetBeans IDE 7.2 on Windows 7 to create a Java Swing Application.

I'm using this IDE since about one month, therefore I have explored many of its features. But there is a particular one -- called binding / bind -- which I don't know what it does.

This can be found at the project tab, which is showed when you create a Java Swing source code (for example, with the File > New Project). Adding any object (like a JSpinner for e.g.) to the JFrame, and right clicking on it, there it is: the vinculate option.

So, does anybody know what is the purpose / utility of "binding"?

Answer 1

I've googled a little and found the following:

http://www.formdev.com/jformdesigner/doc/ui/beans-binding/

http://forums.netbeans.org/topic1651.html

Java Bean, related to binding: What is a JavaBean exactly?

Basically, binding is a property with the following: we have a source and a target, and we want to bind one target property (a text from JTextField, the selected state from a JCheckBox) with some source property (say, some int value, or some string text, or even one flag/boolean). The target usually is one Swing component, and the source can be either a Swing component too, or a custom Bean (maybe a Class, maybe not) created by the user.

One classic example is to bind a JSlider Value (source) with a JTextField (target).

Answer 2

Well, it's described in the Netbeans docs.